Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is going all-in with the circuits, as Events2Compete have revealed a special North American tour for its next major, Midwest Mayhem 8. Collaborating with different tournament organizer teams in the USA, Mexico and Canada, this North American tour will earn nine players free flights to compete in Chicago for Midwest Mayhem 8 on April 9th. Starting off with 2GGaming’s Midwest Mayhem Saga next weekend, where the top placing player from SoCal will earn a flight to Chicago, the other tournaments on this roadshow are:
Panda Global are also planning to host a PG Key to Midwest Mayhem 8 for the final 9th spot, so look out for more details on that in the near future. Midwest Mayhem 8 is not limited to just Smash 4 though, as there will be tournaments for both Street Fighter V and Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- should you wish for some more-traditional fighting game action.
This tour is quite the meeting-of-the-minds for the Smash 4 community, and I hope it fosters more collaboration between TO teams from around North America. The next step to link up with both European and Japanese TOs to make tournaments like this a truly global experience. For more details about the North American tour for Midwest Mayhem 8, check out the smash.gg page which contains links to all the qualifying tournaments, as well as the main event in Chicago.
Great news for Tekken fans, as HORI have announced that the Tekken 7-branded Real Arcade Pro will be coming to the West. Previously announced for only the PlayStation 4 in Japan, each console gets its own unique artwork, with the black PS4 edition showing Kazuya and Heihachi about to fight, while the white Xbox One edition shows off Asuka, Alisa, Lili and Lucky Chloe all ready to battle. Both sticks are also compatible with the PC edition of Tekken 7.
Just announced: Hori will be making Tekken 7 fighting sticks for PS4/PC and XB1/PC! pic.twitter.com/3osFqi6Ae7
This news is especially good for Xbox One players, who have been long-awaiting a new arcade stick for their platform. HORI also recently announced that the Fighting Commander pad is also coming to the Xbox One as well, complete with an all-white color scheme. As with other RAP models, these Tekken sticks use HORI’s own Hayabusa stick and buttons, so you may have to swap these if you are used to Sanwa Denshi buttons on your current stick. These models will launch alongside Tekken 7 on June 2nd.
Not content with having world champions for Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros. and NetherRealm fighters, Echo Fox have snapped up two of the world’s greatest Tekken players in their ongoing fighting game offensive. In readiness for Tekken 7 in June, Echo Fox have signed Choi “Saint” Jinwoo and Kim “JDCR” HyunJin to their already killer roster.
Saint is currently the man to beat in Tekken, having claimed the title of King of the Iron Fist and Evo champion in 2016. While not as prolific as Saint in recent times, JDCR is still a force to be reckoned with in the world of Tekken, taking first place at Evo 2014, the 2014 IeSF World Championship, as well as Final Round 17 and 18 during the heights of Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
In a statement to theScore esports, Echo Fox owner Rick Fox stated that “When we expanded our fighting game team last month we did it knowing that it was only the first step towards becoming a dominating force in the fighting game community. By signing the two of the best Tekken players in the world, Saint and JDCR, we’re moving closer to that goal.”
With Tekken 7 appearing at most major fighting game events in the latter half of this year, expect Echo Fox to be dominating that game as well. If Echo Fox signs an anime or a KOF player, it will have a finger in almost every pie in the FGC.
After a long series of tournaments across several continents, it is almost time to crown the first King of Fighters for the latest edition of SNK’s long running team fighter. The contenders have been locked in, and the KOFXIV final is going to be held at the Akihabara UDX Theater in Tokyo on February 18th. Coming from five continents, the final 16 players are:
Alioune (France)
Frionel (Morocco)
Cipher (Mexico)
Kane Blueriver (Chile)
Toshi (Peru)
AS|Reynald (USA)
DBJ-EIT (Taipei)
gxbridget (Taipei)
KTB|Ball HK (Hong Kong)
MADKOF (South Korea)
Douyu Qanba|Xiaohai (China)
Panda Dakou (China)
Panda TV|Lancer (China)
Panda TV|Naiwang (China)
Picnic (Japan)
Sanwa|M’ (Japan)
With producer Yasuyuki Oda present at the event and “some of the latest new info from KOF” promised to be announced during the course of the finals, this will be an absolute must watch for any King of Fighters fans. The tournament is set to kick off at 3pm JST on February 18th, and you can watch live via Team Spooky’s Twitch channel.
Following the announcement of Black Canary last week for Injustice 2, NetherRealm have released some more in-game footage of the sonic superhero fighting against Deadshot, Supergirl, Blue Beetle and Batman. This footage sheds some more light on her combat trait, which has her charging up her Canary Cry to release a high frequency screech to stun her opponent. A yellow level scream will only knock opponents back a short distance, while a fully charged red Canary Cry will send people flying full screen. If Black Canary is close enough, the Cry can cause a wallbounce but from more than midscreen, it will cause a wall hit and a mini stagger state once the opponent lands. This gives her time to run in and continue a combo.
These fights also outline Deadshot’s combat trait as well as his zoning potential in Injustice 2. There is clear inspiration from Erron Black’s Marksman Variation from Mortal Kombat X in Deadshot’s kit, especially with his rifle and bouncing bullets. His combat trait has him switching between standard, incendiary and acidic rounds, with his mask glowing a different color depending on the bullet type. If you hated day-one Deathstrokes back in the original Injustice, be prepared for some campy Deadshot players when you boot up Injustice 2.
Following on from some beginner Melee lessons, theScore esports has gone up the next level in the curriculum, drawing up some advanced Smash lessons for players to learn. Moving on from the basics and general Smash terminology, this lesson focuses on techniques that are vital at high levels of play and that will require players to do some significant practice if they want to master them.
Talking to players like IMT|Shroomed, CLG|SFAT and PewPewU, Alliance|Armada and Liquid|Hungrybox, this video hopes to explain why techniques like shield dropping, L-cancelling and wavedashing are so important for players to learn. Wavedashing and L-cancelling are especially important, as they act as the first real barriers to get your character to move at top speed when play competitive Melee.
While the Project M development team may have stopped production of the Super Smash Bros. Brawl mod, this has not stopped fans and hobbyists from keeping the flame of PM alive with additional buils, texture packs and stages. Gathering together several different mods into one mega pack, Handy Man has released a trailer to introduce the Handy Man build of Project M.
This new PM 3.6 build contains eight new characters, 240 stages, custom music, new Events and even N64 Mode, which retextures all characters to look like they were from the original Super Smash Bros. The eight new characters include Lyn and Knuckles who were planned for release as part of future versions of Project M, a recreation of Cloud from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U along with new characters like Geno, Waluigi, Metal Sonic, Pichu and Ridley.
It’s a gargantuan addition to Project M and while it probably won’t be used at tournaments, it adds so much for players to mess around with for netplay and casual games. If you are interested in downloading the Handy Man build, check the description of the trailer for download links.
Following on from their previous Ryu statue as part of their Street Fighter V product line, Storm Collectibles have announced their new 1:12 scale Zangief figure for release in the third quarter of 2017. This Zangief comes with three different heads, five pairs of interchangeable palms, two special Lariat Cyclone effects and a special Street Fighter V logo base to stand him on.
You can pose this mini-Zangief so he looks like he is doing his Siberian Express running grab, his Iron Muscle V-Skill, his Lariat V-Trigger and his standard chop. At least I think that is his Siberian Express, he may just be about to give someone a big hug. For a sampling of these poses, check out the gallery below.
If you are a collector of Street Fighter merchandise, this highly mobile Zangief figure will set you back $90 and pre-orders are open now, should you wish to guarantee ownership of your own miniature bear wrestler.
With the widespread excitement for the Evo 2017 games line-up last week, there was a slight twist in the tail for some communities. In a flashback to 2013, the ninth game for Evo 2017 would be decided by a charity drive, with nine extra games being potentially up for that final spot. One of the games sent to fight in the arena is Killer Instinct–which has been at Evo ever since its release back in 2013.
While it may not garner the largest numbers, Killer Instinct has a community of incredibly dedicated fans, complete with an equally attentive developer who only wants to see the game thrive. With a storied history at Evo, a passionate cohort of players, and design which makes it perfect for the arena environment, here’s why Killer Instinct should still be considered for a spot during the Sunday finals.
Built for the Big Stage
Anyone who has played Killer Instinct knows the excitement this game can induce. Hearing the commentator shout “C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!” at the top of his lungs is cool enough on the TV at home, let alone in an enormous arena like the Mandalay Bay. With one of the best soundtracks in the business and some fantastic sound design, Killer Instinct is made for a massive stage like Evo. There is no better way to start off the Sunday, than with the roaring sounds of a Triple Ultra while “Inferno” blasts through the arena speakers.
Counter Breakers allow for intense mind games and crazy combo potential, there is almost limitless combo potential with each character’s unique Instinct mode and, with a sizable cast of viable fighters, there is almost guaranteed character variety even in a top 8 finals. “Killer Instinct always remained very bright and exciting with its expanding (and for the most-part) well-balanced roster in any fighting game period,” says Ultra Arcade’s Bass, Evo 2015 Top 8 finalist and Evo 2016 runner-up. “Character diversity along with the representation of many different players from around the globe has grown exponentially as KI evolved.” With the addition of new character Kilgore and further balances and changes to Killer Instinct going into Evo, there is no danger of its top 8 being a series of character dittos. Bass adds that “most of the roster is still untapped, and you guys have seen how intense and crazy our tournaments can get, with all that new tech comin’ out practically every day,” so the chance of a diverse top 8 is even higher.
Plus, with characters like Rash excelling in styling on your opponent, Triple Ultras providing quite the way to showboat after a win and character Ultimates coming in February to add that extra layer of hype to a win, you can definitely expect fireworks at Mandalay Bay, should Killer Instinct grace the stage.
An Exciting Legacy and a Hopeful Future
Since its first appearance back at Evo 2014, Killer Instinct has always had a small, but action packed presence at Evo. “We showed up at Evolution 2014 (with some of your favorite Street Fighter pros included in our Top 8), expanded in Evolution 2015 (and brought the hype with 8 different characters in that Top 8, along with an unknown Japanese player), and continued to bring in the crazy diversity in Evolution 2016 (Grand Finals consisted of two friends who started playing online together)” Bass recalls, looking back on KI’s storied history at the event.
There have been heart in mouth moments like MyGod’s magic pixel comeback against Sleep, Domi coming out of nowhere with his crazy Cinder tech to 16 year old prodigy SeaDragon getting into top 8 of this year’s event. Killer Instinct has had no shortage of excitement when on the Evo stage, so you can only expect the community to bring its A-game should it make it to Sunday finals this year.
Moreover, Killer Instinct is only set to grow in the future, thanks to the work done by current developers Iron Galaxy. There are still two more characters to be added to the roster in the near future and Iron Galaxy are in constant communication with the Killer Instinct community via surveys and streams. Half of the purchases of new character Kilgore are going to fund the KI Ultra Tour, ensuring that Killer Instinct is only going to improve in 2017. “Killer Instinct found itself as the game with the highest entrant growth by percentage year after year at Evo” says Rick Thiher, tournament director for Combo Breaker–a tournament series he named after Killer Instinct. “Now in its potential 4th year at Evo, Killer Instinct continues to be the fighting game with the most open developer community relationship, as well as ongoing new character releases leading into Evo 2017.” Far from being on life support, this is the time to get into Killer Instinct–and having it on the big stage means more players joining this community. Iron Galaxy’s community support has even allowed blind players like SightlessKombat to fight alongside everyone else, thanks to its extensive audio options.
Plus, it couldn’t be easier to join in on the fun. Rather than having to buy an old console to run it, or having to scour the Internet just to find to people to play with, Killer Instinct is free to play. If you are at all interested in playing, you can download it right now and start learning with starter character Jago and the weekly rotating character. Killer Instinct Season 2 is even free until February 15th if you have Xbox Live Gold, meaning you can play with 17 of the game’s 27 characters right now. The game’s extensive Training Mode and tutorials are one of the best out there for teaching brand new players how to fight, and its unparalleled netcode mean that you can play almost anyone in the world with few connection issues.
A Killer Community
Most importantly, Killer Instinct has one of the most passionate communities out there. From its thriving online community with regular tournaments like 8-Bit Beatdown, KI Pro League and Kross Up, it has a continued presence at other big FGC events like CEO, Combo Breaker and SCR. On top of this, its own dedicated offline events like Kombo Klash and the upcoming Killer Instinct World Cup make it so Killer Instinct fans are fiercely dedicated to any event that will have them. “6 million unique users have come together to create one of the FGC’s most welcoming communities and it would be a shame to turn a blind eye to their collective interest before Killer Instinct has stopped releasing new content” says Thiher, as someone who is acutely aware of the passion of the KI community through their place at events like Combo Breaker.
It’s also a game with a global presence, with a substantial following in Europe and even an enthusiastic, if small, Japanese scene. The current KIWC bracket is set to have players from over 7 different countries at present, so expect that continent spanning community to also descend on Evo, should it make the cut. “To me KI at Evo is special,” says Ki4Life, member of the Dutch Brawlers and top European community leader. “When I saw KI at Evo in 2014 I knew I had to be there for the game, the KI family but overall for the FGC in general. Then in 2015 I flew 16+ hours from the Netherlands, first time in USA and had the time of my life.”
It’s a community where it does not matter if you are a new player, an online warrior, a stream monster or a veteran contender; everyone is welcome in the Killer Instinct family. With community members like Infilament creating free in-depth guides to aid new players on the path to competition, groups like Ultra Arcade sponsoring new players and running community events, along a developer which only wants the best for its players, Killer Instinct has nothing but love for getting people into the FGC. “I was an online warrior, who somehow got fully sponsored in a 6 month span, and now I’m known not just in the Killer Instinct community, but rather, the fighting community as Ultra Arcade’s Bass,” says the Spinal master when discussing the community’s positive effect on his life. “I started traveling everywhere, won many majors, both nationally and internationally, and now I’ve met many friends and now family, for a lifetime.”
Currently situated in the third spot behind Pokkén Tournament and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Killer Instinct still has the potential to pop its Instinct and surge to victory. However, if it does not get in, it is not the end of the world. Killer Instinct is certainly not going anywhere, with its own World Cup in March, billing at events like CEO and Combo Breaker, alongside continued online tournaments for the legion of online warriors. It would of course be great to have another big stage to show Killer Instinct off, any of the other games currently in the running for that top spot would make for fantastic Sunday viewing, so show your support to them after this donation drive is over.
If Killer Instinct is still lagging behind and no Jago Spirit Bomb comes to save the day, spread the love in other ways. Buy a friend a copy of the Definitive Edition and play together, direct new players to the plethora of learning resources and most importantly, keep cheering for Killer Instinct! Evo is ultimately about spreading a shared love of fighting games out there to anyone who cares to watch a match or pick up a controller, so show that love whenever possible and show the FGC just how much they may have missed by not getting KI as their Sunday opener. However, as Killer Instinct is lucky to actively aid players in their journey to compete and have a developer that is constantly putting players first and a close-knit, supportive community, I feel Killer Instinct is one you should consider to fill that ninth spot. Fight on!
Vote for Killer Instinct on generosity.com here. Voting closes at 12:00 PM PST on February 8, 2017.
Special thanks to Kenneth “Bass” Armas, Rick “TheHadou” Thiher and Chi-Man “Ki4Life” Cheung for contributing their thoughts.
Following a successful season last year and ahead of the launch of Injustice 2 in May, Stream.me are hosting another series of their online Mortal Kombat X tournament series, Kombat Cup. Starting on February 12th, kombatants will compete for over $12,000 in prize money over 13 weekly tournaments, with the Kombat Cup Season 2 Finale happening on May 14th.
Every week will have a top 8 qualifier on either Sunday or Monday, with the top 8 from that event competing for league points and cash prizes on Wednesday. All top 16 placers will receive league points in these qualifier events, with the top 4 receiving cash for their efforts. There will also be a separate Thursday Konquest tournament, where players can compete for just league points. The weekly schedule and the points breakdown will be available on the Kombat Cup Season 2 smash.gg page, when registration goes live on February 5th.
So far, Kombat Cup Season 1 champions FOX|SonicFox and players from Noble eSports like Noble|Dragon are already planned to compete in Season 2, so get ready for some tough competition come February 12th.
